Stirring Cinders
by L. M. Ritwock
Summary: Claves wasn't the only one with their soul in pieces. Rondo and Fugue travel throughout the Mysterious Unison in each other's unwanted company to resurrect themselves and perhaps breathe life into something they didn't even know existed. Rogue Ship Rondo x Fugue
1. Unexpected Encounter

"Shut. Up." Rondo pulled her blades through yet another pirate. She ignored his guttural cries and tossed his mangled body onto the floor. She sighed. Searching the scum's pockets might have gotten her a coin or two, but it wasn't what she was looking for. If he had what she needed, she would have _felt _it. Rondo felt nothing.

"Damn it," Rondo hissed. Ever since Claves and her pitiful entourage left, the Unison had been as silent as the graveyard it was. She had to find entertainment in killing anything she could pierce her blades through; as if that was any different from when she was alive. Whatever that meant. Rondo wasn't sure what being "alive" or "dead" meant anymore. She was stuck in the situation as "undecided". Rondo would rather be flat-out dead.

She stabbed a jumping squash-like creature and hurled it into the black abyss that the Unison seemed to be floating in. It was a common practice of hers. She stood quietly, waiting, anticipated the one moment she would actually hear it land with a thud or some sort of noise. Nothing. That moment was not happening today.

She closed her eyes and focused on the floor around her. She knew the maze like the back of her hand. When there's more time than anyone could ever use on their hands, being stuck in a maze is not as confusing anymore. She tried to locate something, a piece of her, something she was lacking, but couldn't find it. Rondo kicked a pebble in frustration and watched it roll away and startle another squash. Soul hunting was slowly becoming a futile effort for Rondo.

It never changed around here; it was the same routine. Always. Rondo walked to the warp and transported to the front. It felt like the right time to take a break.

Rondo sat on the stairs and grumbled to herself.

"Why is it Claves can complete her entire soul in a week, but it takes me almost a year just to complete half?" Rondo pressed her knuckles against the stairs. Her knuckles began to bleed from the pressure, but she did not feel any pain, no sting at all. This is what frustrated her most: she could not feel. All she felt was smoldering anger and desperation. It was suffocating her, it was becoming harder and harder to keep going on. It sickened her, being locked up inside this maze with nothing to do but wander aimlessly and pray a Soul Shard would magically appear. Rondo wasn't in the "wandering" mood, nor a "praying" mood, so she simply willed anything to happen and started to doze on the stairs.

And something did happen.

Rondo felt a tingle, a spark in the back of her mind; it felt so strange, but she knew it from somewhere. The feeling rang through her veins. It flooded her entire system and she turned numb. She tried to force her eyes open, but they stayed stubbornly shut. It felt like all her pores were being ripped apart and exposing her. She wriggled and strained against her invisible bonds. The sensation was killing her! As suddenly, it all ceased. Her lungs spat out the air she was holding in unconsciously. She groped around for her blades and gripped them tightly. Rondo stood, ready to murder. She had felt so vulnerable; she was not taking any risks.

The entrance warp started up, illuminating the entire room. Rondo covered her eyes and squinted. Lights swirled and twirled, reforming whoever it was on the warp. The light turned blinding. Rondo had to turn away. As the light faded and her eyes adjusted, she turned around. Rondo rarely expressed her emotions with her physical features. This was one of those rare moments and it clearly said: shock.

On the warp pad, the same situation manifested.

"Fugue?" Rondo gaped. How had he gotten in here?

"Rondo? Well, that's unexpected," Fugue shook his head in disbelief. "Your hair turned silver!"

"Is that the first thing that pops into your mind? That's the least of your concerns," she spat.

He shrugged and stepped off the warp pad, facing away from her, "Well then. If I'm not needed here, I shall be on my way. Obviously, you're in no need of my company."

Rondo glared at him, "And where do _you _think you are going?"

"'_That's the least of your concerns_'," he said with a haughty smirk. Fugue walked off and teleported to another floor. Rondo blinked, gritting her teeth together.

"Who does he think he is?" Rondo fumed. She stood there dumbly. She had half the mind to chase after him and give him a piece of her mind, which could easily be translated into her attacks, but the thought of hunting him down tired her. Fugue could be on any of the thirteen floors and she was not willing to get up for the sake of his pursuit.

Rondo sank down to her knees and let out a sigh. She put her swords on either side on her, resting her palms on their hilts. Only her thoughts kept her company and they were starting to become a nuisance. They buzzed with different questions, bothering her sanity. She wanted answers, but she could get none; she could not deny it.

What bothered her most was the odd sensation she had before Fugue appeared. Rondo had never felt so helpless. It angered her that some stupid vibe could get past her guard so easily. What was it? It did not make sense in any way. Except, unless… Rondo's eyes widened. He must have found one her Soul Shards. That was probably why is had felt so foreign yet familiar to her. Perhaps he had picked up one of her Shards, simply thinking it was his.

Rondo chuckled. Fugue was indeed moronic. He should have felt the Soul Shard as his own, unless his senses were that badly impaired. She rolled her eyes at the thought. She stood, using her swords for support. If Fugue had one of her Soul Shards, she _had_ to find him. She doubted another rare occasion like the one that had just elapsed would come around and give her a golden opportunity. Her legs were numbing anyway; she might as well get something done.

Rondo headed over to the second warp pad. She decided to just go floor-by-floor during her search. She'd be surprised if she couldn't manage to catch him lost on the twelfth floor. She waited as she felt herself break up and travel to the next floor.

_Break time's over_, she thought.

A/N: Well, this is my first attempt at a fanfiction! Please, read and reply. Questions, comments, concerns? Post! I'll be sure to reply to my best ability.

I _know_ I'm not the only Rondo x Fugue fan in here (I hope)! I'll be leading them through the entire Mysterious Unison, plus a couple of chapters after that. Thanks for reading up to this point!


	2. Conflicts

Rondo strode confidently off the warp pad. Her strategy was simple: explore the whole floor to see if she could find anything. The encounter had motivated her to try and get something done. It was a change in the monotonous tone her existence had started to take on. Her lips curled up at the edges, the only sign of her anticipation.

It dawned upon her that she was not alone on this particular level of the maze. She stopped for a moment. Battered and butchered bodies of unknown monstrous beings were strewn about. A distinct slash across their body's lengths was the clear cause of death and the signature of the swordsman.

"Fugue." Rondo said the name in such distaste as though it were bile. It was not because he was a lackluster fighter, his abilities would suffice for his purposes, but it was his attitude that so greatly irked her. She just wanted to punch a hole through the I'm-better-than-you expression on his face. The entire time they spent serving under Count Waltz, they competed with each other, trying to prove themselves better than each. They were evenly matched and they hated that fact. It was a battle for dominance and it always ended up the same way: each of them exerting themselves to the limit while Count Waltz took advantage of their blind eagerness.

The thought of beating Fugue and leaving him to rot here for eternity greatly amused Rondo. This was the chance to make it clear who was the better of the two. This also might be the last chance she had to do so. Looking for Soul Shards would only last for so long. She would not be satisfied without finalizing who the rightful winner was.

Rondo shook her head and pulled out of the reverie. She brought back her focus to the floor she was on. It was a square with branches on each side. It was a cake-walk to maneuver, but which way? It was obvious which path Fugue had taken, the right, seeing he left fallen bodies in his wake.

She turned her nose up at the right pathway. She would take the left, of course. Someone did not have to clear a path for her sake, she could handle herself on her own, especially seeing who "someone" was in these circumstances. It sickened her to think she would ever stoop so low. Rondo did not think twice and planted each of her steps firmly, her heels echoing her prominent presence. There was no available challenge on this floor, a swift uppercut from her blades silenced any disturbances she encountered. It was merely minutes before she reached the first diverged pathway.

She glanced sideways in mild interest. Something, a foreign sight to her eyes, caught her attention. Her curiosity perked as she took another look, walking towards it apprehensively. She would have rubbed her eyes in disbelief, but she would never doubt her own perceptions. It was an orange box. A treasure chest? Such a thing no longer existed in her vocabulary. The color gave Rondo a headache.

_This must be a hoax,_ she confided within herself. _There's no way a magical box of wonders will conveniently pop up that coincidentally follows the series of strange events that seem to be plaguing today._ It all seemed suspicious. It did not sit well in her stomach, there had to be some sort of catch. She gazed around, waiting for something to clutch at her from the surrounding shadows. She strode up to the box and stood in front of it silently. She tensed and was ready to defend herself.

Nothing happened.

Was she just being paranoid? Rondo was not sure what to expect anymore. It was impossible for her to go insane, she had already accomplished that long ago. Why was she showing weakness? She got angry at herself for being so spineless. She booted the box open. She inhaled sharply.

A Soul Shard glowed faintly within the confines of the chest. Now she was completely uncertain about what was going on. What was wrong with the world today? How to react? It was a hard choice between being happy about her untimely fortune or throw her hands up and yell, "What the hell?" She rubbed her temples and took a deep breath.

_Don't ask, just work with what you've got,_ she told herself. Tossing away the baffled thoughts in her head, she bent down to pick the shard up. She quietly sighed in relief when nothing stirred as she did so. She held the shard in her hand, looking at its glimmering facets. Why she failed to sense the Soul Shard when she had initially gotten on this floor she did not understand. Had her senses dulled?

Rondo became wary. She stiffened. Her eyes narrowed and she let out a breath that seeped through her teeth. She spun around, one of her blades held up. It stopped centimeters away from the intruder's neck, just as their blade was next to hers. Both glared at each other in mute resentment, their blades rigid in the air and only a hair away from making contact with skin.

"I don't recall inviting you here," Fugue hissed.

"I took the liberty and did it myself, saves you from the chore," she retorted. He made a sound that went along the lines of a "humph" and continued to stand there stubbornly. He rested his blade on her shoulder then slowly began to press the blade against her neck.

Rondo was fairly certain blood was beginning to draw on her neck. Something wet inching down her throat confirmed her thought.

"What's the problem, Fugue? Can't hold your own sword up by yourself?" She said. "You were never very patient to begin with." He frowned.

Rondo jerked backwards just as Fugue tried to slice her skin. A thin crimson line stained her neck. She did not feel a thing. It failed to be any sort of nuisance whatsoever.

"Look," Fugue said calmly, "just hand over what is rightfully mine and I shall be out of your way and you out of mine."

"What could you possibly be talking about?" She asked innocently.

"You know perfectly well what I am referring to, wench. The Soul Shard," he demanded.

"Oh, this thing?," Rondo said, tapping the Soul Shard gently against her cheek. He appeared to be ready to tackle her, his knuckles visibly tighter. She smirked, "I don't know. The trade doesn't seem fair. I refuse your offer."

He sighed in frustration, "You know I have little tolerance for your behavior, Rondo. Just hand the damn shard over and this will be done with. Besides, you're not the one that endured what this floor had to offer. I'm entitled to it more than you. You are barely deserving of anything, for that matter."

"Excuse me," Rondo snarled. "You prance in here and cut up a few pathetic monsters. You really give yourself too much credit."

Fugue took a step forward and sighed, "I hate wasting energy on you." He swung at her. Metal clanged. She parried each swing with one hand. Her other hand toyed with the Soul Shard. This was nothing. They both knew that. They had beaten and bruised each other more when they had sparred when under order of Count Waltz.

"Careful, you might damage your precious Soul Shard," she said.

Fugue laughed as he thrust out with his blade, "The fact you are currently handling it has ruined it beyond repair." She scowled at his remark. The nerve of him!

"I'm done playing." Rondo swung her idle blade suddenly, Fugue did not expected the motion. She managed a gash on his upper arm and grazed his cheek. He cursed. Rondo began backing up. If she could attach the Soul Shard to the rest of hers, they would belong to her permanently and this unsavory encounter would be at an end, seeing he would be unable to do anything even if he desired to. She tried reaching into her back pouch, but it left a gap in her defensive form. She continued slowly backing up.

"Why so hasty?" Fugue said. His cheek was smeared with blood, the cut still bleeding. He had a dangerous glint in his eyes and his lips were turned in a slight sneer. They both stopped moving, their anger and impatience smoldering.

_Think fast_, Rondo commanded. She felt anxious, keeping her composure was never one of her strengths. She could run, connect the Shards together despite Fugue's obvious protest, risking the chance of enduring his spite, or she could put up a fit and earn the right to the Soul Shard fair and square. The Shard was larger than usual, it felt like the equivalent of two. It would be worth it, either way. If she won the fight, he would most likely honor that. Sure, his ego would be tarnished, but he knew to respect those who were victor. Rondo was no coward. She was furious at herself for even considering running. What truly was wrong with her? The maze was getting to her. She shook her head in disappointment. Then, she lunged at him.

She hacked away at Fugue. The blows were absorbed by his sword. She growled and continued relentlessly striking at him. The sound of clashing steel reverberated around them. Sparks were sent flying each time their swords connected. Rondo crouched then sprung upward,trying to get in a good slash on his torso. He back flipped and returned to his stance.

"Fighting you is more of a bore than doing nothing at all," he jeered. Her jaw clenched, but she said nothing. They ran at each other.  
Their swords met with fervor, both blades eager to meet vulnerable flesh. They were at a stand-off, both trying to gain the upper hand in the situation. They stayed this way for a while, sweat growing and teeth gritting as their arms went under great strain. Rondo was close enough that she could smell his blood. She was sure her blood as well was in the mix.

"You've quite the _blood scent on_," she mocked.

He laughed coldly, "Oh, how very droll." They had taken enough. They gave each other a shove, both of them stumbling backwards. Rondo skidded across the tile, her heels digging into the marble. Fugue was not nearly as affected as she was, already advancing upon her. He smirked as she recollected herself. She looked up just in time to see the attack coming one moment too late.

"_J'accuse!_"

Rondo was sent reeling, stomaching the entire blow. She landed on her back with a painful thump. She was crushing her hand that held the shard with her weight. She moved to get up, but stopped as Fugue's blade hung over her stomach. If she tried to sit up, she would impale herself on his sword. She glared at him.

"Hand over the Soul Shard, Rondo," Fugue said sternly. He stood there unwavering, despite the daggers she threw with her eyes. She knew she was not in the position to refuse. The shard was pressed firmly into her palm. She ran her finger over it. She mentally swore as she felt a crack. How did a Soul Shard manage to crack? _Just my luck_, she thought bitterly. At that moment, she got an idea.

Rondo stared up at Fugue for a moment then sighed.

"Fine," she said. He removed his sword as she sat up. She revealed the hand with the shard in it. Fugue snatched it greedily, examining it. He nodded in approval, sensing its familiar aurora. Rondo stared at the shard Fugue held, not feeling much of connection anymore, only faintly.

"Well, I suppose I shall be off," Fugue said, pocketing the shard with the rest. Rondo stood up, blocking his way.

"I don't trust you," she said accusingly.

He raised an eyebrow, "I do not see why I should care about what you think."

"Explain this." Rondo held up a Soul Shard.

"Where did you get that?" Fugue tried to grab it, but Rondo drew her hand back. He stared at the fragment she held in her fingers, slowly lowering his arm. He only recognized it as his own scarcely, it seemed like a ghostly resemblance to his own. He would not bother fighting for it.

"It was stuck to your shard. I broke the two apart," she explained. "Why that is so is beyond me. Nor do I care. The only thing that concerns me is the fact that you could be walking out of this place with one of _mine_."

Fugue stared at her then shrugged. "I don't see what you want me to do about it."

She threw her hands up, "Of all people, I would expect you to manage to make some sense out of this."

"It's not my fault you cannot sort things out yourself. If I find one of yours, I am deeply sorry, but that's not my problem," he said brushing past her. "I have three more to find before I can finally get out of this place. I'm not letting you get in the way of that."

Rondo balled her hands into tight fists. She wanted to beat him senseless. How did the bastard have a soul to even reconnect? He could accidentally take one of her shards and connect it to his own, meaning she would be missing one and never able to complete her own. She knew she might even possibly connect to one of his; her nose crinkled in disgust at the thought. She paused. _Wait, this might work_, she thought quietly.

"And what if I take one of yours?" She asked.

Fugue glanced over his shoulder, "What?"

"If I take one of your shards, would you be happy about that? Hell with it then. Finders keepers," she said indignantly. "I don't care anymore."

He thought to himself, analyzing what she had just said. He could see where she was coming from now. It did seem unpleasant to be stuck here longer because one took the other's shard. It was rude, even.

"All right," he said, passive. "Have fun on your own, then."

"Humph." She walked past him without even a glance, looking down at her hands, connecting her shards together then pocketed them. He should be out of her hair now. There were bruises and wounds that needed mending after that minor ordeal she just had. She glanced back and noticed he was walking behind her. _He needs to get to the warp pad, too_, she reminded herself. She sped up her steps and he adjusted accordingly. No matter what speed she went at, he followed in proportion so he was always just a few feet away. They ended up sprinting for the warp.

She spun around. "What do you want?" She asked in dismay.

He gave her an incredulous look, "I'm being certain that if you do indeed run into any Soul Shards, they are not in actuality my own. If they are, I have the right to confiscate them from you. The same goes for you."

"Are you kidding me?" She practically yelled.

"I kid you not," he said with a smug smile. The urge to sock him square in the face grew almost unbearable. She gave him a harsh look before turning around. It would be useless trying to get rid of him. He was enjoying seeing her in discomfort and it would most likely take him a long time to get tired of it. It would not be worth the wasted effort.

"Just don't get in the way," Rondo said.

Fugue smiled, "I shall do my best to do the exact opposite." She sighed in defeat and stepped onto the warp pad, involuntarily cringing as he followed right behind her.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, but ta-dah! Chapter two. Your comments are worth volumes to me.

Disclaimer:I do not own Eternal Sonata, no characters mentioned in this story are of my own creation and belong to their respected owners.


	3. It's Been A While, Hasn't It?

"Boop, boop, boop," Fugue droned on with relentless enthusiasm. Rondo's fists balled around the hilts of her cinquedeas, her self-restraint splitting apart at the seams. The pallor of her skin around her knuckles was a clear indication she was millimeters from bashing the back of her hilts into that stupid mouth of his. Somehow, Fugue had acquired the notion he was a well-equipped dowsing machine that could sense a Soul Shard a floor away. She knew she was well-equipped to break the "machine" and continue her search on her own.

Rondo whipped around, jabbing a finger to his chest, "Would you just put a sock in it? I'd happily do it for you if you can't find yourself capable." Her fist trembled at her side, barely held back by some foreign decency.

Fugue shrugged, "How can I stop it? It's a natural mechanism that is built into my infrastructure that cannot be simply shut off. It cannot be helped that its data interface is with reactions in sounds and physical responses. There is nothing I can do about it. My apologies. Boop, boop, boop. I can sense we are closer to a desired Soul Shard. Perhaps that can comfort you." From the amused look in his eyes, Rondo was more than certain that he was not sorry at all.

She whirled away from him, wiping her hand off on her skirt as she did_. Just keep going, it'll be all over soon enough, _she thought. He continued his "sound responses" throughout all the floors up to the fifth. On each floor, she prayed a shard would miraculously appear just to shut him up, but her hopes were denied. Rondo was unfortunately well-acquainted with feeling let-down.

They reached a warp pad after yet another disappointing search, Fugue still making noises as if they were getting anywhere. This meant it was time for the painful deliberation of which floor to go to next. Even they would have laughed together if someone suggested they make a unanimous decision.

"We should just skip to the next floor. There's barely anything on the sixth," Rondo reasoned, already heading to the glassy surface of the warp pad. Fugue did not move to follow her echoing footsteps. She turned and raised an eyebrow over her bored eyes. Her lips hung in a lazy frown, momentarily parting to let out her disapproving sigh. "You're not obligated to follow so whatever. Enjoy your useless sound effects by yourself."

There was a glimmer of hope he would be too stubborn to go her way and finally leave her alone. All she wanted was to get the Soul Shard she had sensed when Fugue had first appeared, but now she was regretting the fact she had bothered. He was proving more troublesome than she had expected, but she should have expected that. The footsteps behind her told her she would have to bear with him yet another moment too long. At least he was not arguing with her this time around. Maybe he was as tired of her as she was of him. She doubted that though, she knew he found ceaseless amusement from her torture.

The warp pad sizzled them off to the seventh floor, leaving behind the fifth and ignoring the sixth. Automatically, Rondo began scanning the floor once they emerged from the blinding beams, reaching out for a reaction in her mind. It was cut short and all her focus completely died. Behind her, Fugue reached a new level of annoyance.

"Boooooooooooooooooooo-…," he went on with no end, his face composed and emotionless.

"What now?" Rondo cried out in frustration, "Please shut your damn mouth or I will rip it off your face!"

Fugue's eyes widened in feigned shock, his elongated vowel stopping, "I explained to you that I was incapable of controlling the sound responses I emit. This is a clear suggestion we have gone too far in our search. We should retract our steps; perhaps go back to the sixth floor."

"No way," Rondo stuck her chin in the air, crossing her arms. "It would be a total waste of _my _time."

He resumed his earlier argument, "Boooooooooooooooooooo-"

"Fine! Fine, just stop that horrid sound!" Rondo shoved past Fugue, wanting to get away from him. Why did he have to follow her? Why didn't she just beat him up? _Not worth it at all_, she thought sourly, although it was very tempting at the moment. She made haste to the warp pad, but Fugue never failed to keep up a proportional pace. The warp pad whizzed them off to the previous floor.

Rondo quickly stepped off the warp pad, trying to put a healthy amount of distance between her and the broken record that refused to leave her alone.

"Boopboop boopboop boop boopboopboop!" Fugue ran up behind her and shook her shoulders with vigor. That was too much. Rondo smashed her fist underneath his cheekbone, knocking his neck back with a painful crack as he was sent backwards.

"I've had enough of that, thank you," Rondo hissed angrily as Fugue rubbed his cheek.

"Must you continue to mar my face with your hideous handiwork? Your blade just recently met my other cheek, if you have forgotten," he lamented, pressing the now bruised flesh with the tips of his fingers, moving it in circles in an effort to soothe his aching cheek.

"It's quite obvious how much you adore your meticulous symmetry. I thought I might do you the favor of keeping up with your expensive taste," she said, waving her hand as if nothing had happened.

"Well, my deepest gratitude for taking that into consideration as you decided where to plant your furious fist. It is not easy to keep up such a style as my own, unlike what you try to pass off as a wardrobe," he said, straightening the wrinkles in his sleeves.

Rondo slowly turned around to face him, "Excuse me?"

Fugue glanced up, before returning to dusting off a speck from his boots, "It is quite obvious, Rondo, that you don't take much care in the methods of how you present yourself."

"My clothing choices are my own and I don't care how that compares to yours. At least it makes it clear I'm in no way like you. You use one sword and wear a monocle. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of your symmetry?" Rondo swaggered straight up to him, jabbing a finger under his chin. From the split second grimace that flashed on his face, Rondo knew she gave him an uppercut he wouldn't forget for some time. "I don't give a single damn about what you think, but back off my asymmetry, you hypocrite." She flicked his chin up before walking in the general direction of the teleporter that stood on the other side of the very small floor, grumbling about how much energy she had just wasted.

"It takes one to know one, does it not? Don't you use two identical blades yourself? It's symmetrical. I guess I have rubbed some of my good tastes on you," he said nonchalant, his eyes glinting a victorious glow. _Got her, _he thought with a smirk.

Rondo's skin crawled. He had any influence on her? Impossible. The concept of anything about him transferring to her disgusted her and made her want to wretch. Her face became warm and she clenched her fists tighter, trying to keep her shoulders straight_. Ignore it, pretend he never said anything,_ she yelled at herself mentally. _This is what he wants! Don't let him see you squirm. _She had made it half-way, right where the floor branched off to the empty space where a floating orb person normally hangs around.

"You two never change, always quarreling about the smallest things."

Rondo whipped her head around, surprised at the entrance of a new voice, but she remotely recognized it. Fugue did a sudden back-flip away from the voice, and even she was silently impressed by the distance he was able to clear. He was just a few feet away from where she was when he landed.

Fugue relaxed as he recognized the figure, "Ah, Tuba. It has been some time since I was graced with your unpleasant countenance. How has your pitiful existence been?"

Tuba seemed to growl, "Humph, not great. You're not helping any, either. There's nothing to do."

Rondo snickered and Fugue continued, "It makes sense you can't figure out what to do with yourself. You were never the sharpest, were you, Tuba?"

Tuba furrowed his brow and glared at them.

"Weapon choice reflects the wielder. Like your ball-on-a-stick, you are incredibly blunt. How do you fight with that?" Fugue shook his head. Using a condescending tone, he said, "It's no wonder your last resort was practically committing suicide. There was definitely no other option, like actually capturing those fools, which you could have done. Your rash, ignorant decisions are just a scratch on the surface of how dense you can be."

Rondo rested her elbows on the hilts of her blades and chimed in, "Watch it, Fugue. He might eat you like that fluff ball did."

Fugue scowled at Rondo, "I recommend you do not tread on that topic if you know what is in your best interest." Rondo just laughed at him as he turned back around, rolling her eyes at his touchiness on the subject.

"By the way, Tuba," he said. "Monocles are always superior to eye patches."

Tuba fumed, slamming his mace into the ground, "You shut your insolent mouth. Fighting with you is dumb when all you do is brag about being the best. What kind of argument is that?" He had formed a small crater in front of him. He stepped over it and approached Fugue, holding his mace out.

Would a fight ensue? Rondo did not have time to entertain Fugue's sadistic needs. They had wasted four, maybe even _five_, minutes of her time. That was excluding the time it took to come back to this floor and all that preceded Tuba's arrival. That was five minutes too many. She stopped leaning on her blades, stretching her back.

Fugue and Tuba gave off murderous vibes. She wanted none of that. She took her attention away from them, staring at the small crater Tuba had made. That's when she realized the skittering explosion of senses was present in the back of her mind, the one they had looked for, what Fugue's sound responses were supposed to find. The feeling was right there and they hadn't even noticed because they were too busy infuriating each other. God, she felt like such an idiot. Careful not to disturb their now ensued fight and Fugue's precise name calling, Rondo edged around them and jumped over the swinging mace, fastening her gaze on the small crater.

It was near the warp pad where Rondo had punched Fugue. _It's just a coincidence that he guessed right, _Rondo told herself, even though the spot was dreadfully close to where his erratic "boop"ing occurred. It really was just a coincidence. Fugue was a bit too preoccupied to propose otherwise. A lost opportunity for him.

Rondo would not acknowledge it for anything else other than a lucky guess as she scratched away the rubble clinging around the glossy surface she could easily identify, her mind sparking signals to her brain anxiously. They almost gave her a headache, how had she not been able to feel that earlier? She tugged and wiggled the shard around until it popped out of the ground. They were still at it behind her, Fugue busy accusing Tuba of weak defense to spare any attention to her. The ground was decorated with even more craters from the sounds of it.

She dusted it off with her thumb, staring at the colors a bit closer. There were ribbons of color dancing within its glazed shell. There was a crack on this one just like the last. Rondo split the two, connecting her shard to the rest_. Two more,_ she thought eagerly_. Just two more. _The other shard, presumably Fugue's, sat in the palm of her hand. It was not nearly as colorful as her own, the lights swimming within it a much greyer scale with stray streaks of dark blue and violet mingling in occasionally. Behind her a montage of attacks went off.

"Demonic Embrace!" A clang of metal.

Rondo clicked the tip of her metal fingertips against the shard's surface; the colors seemed to swarm towards the touch. She took out her growing ball of shards to compare them.

"Blood Scent!" Crashing and a lot of howling. The ground oscillated in time with their clatter.

Purple and violet excitedly bounced around the small confines of the collected shards. Not a speck of grey in hers. She put the two closer together. The colors gathered towards each other, making the edges of the shards completely transparent. They collected in a bright blob in the general middle. There was a small, but noticeable amount of attraction between the fragment and the ball, as if they were two weak magnets. She wondered briefly if color had some effect on the shards' interactions, but she lost interest in that as a loud bellow erupted behind her. Quickly stuffing the shards away, she turned and saw Fugue pull his sword from Tuba's gut. Red was pouring like wine from an unplugged keg.

She did not have the patience to watch Tuba slowly die, stomach wounds took much too long for her taste. It was not efficient in her field of assassination. She didn't care if Fugue thought that was the most beautiful moment in the entire world, watching life flow like a river or something pathetically poetic like that. She was _so _close to finally finishing her soul and ditching this dump. She would quicken the dying process herself.

It had been such a long time since she had used Grand Venom. She twirled the small capsule along her knuckles, gently kneaded its membrane to make her job of puncturing and releasing its toxins swiftly.

Rondo got up from her crouch by the minuscule crater, which now appeared even smaller compared to the other craters dotted around the floor. It appeared as though Fugue was giving some sort of monologue, mocking Tuba in his second dying moment.

"Yeah, yeah, you can hear the accolades, whatever," Rondo shoved Fugue aside, cutting short his speech. Tuba was bent over; one hand clung to his stomach while the other loyally clutched the mace. "What Fugue most likely means to communicate to you is you are a filthy rat and that he is amazing and so much better, blah, blah, blah. I don't have the tolerance to sit through that whole thing so I'll make the demise part quick as well. Suffer, you roach. Thanks for saving me from the digging, by the way." With that, Rondo broke the poisonous capsule letting its contents burst all over her gloved hand and drip onto Tuba's scratches and gashes. His face contorted in pain and anger.

"There, there," she cooed in artificial warmth, patting his head and flattening his spiked hair. "It's pretty much over for you; I hope you enjoy whatever hell you get stuffed into after this."

She marched away, paying no mind to Fugue's outraged expression as she swept past him. She was happily heading to the warp pad, glad to get off this floor.

There was one more interruption before she could make her getaway. In a last effort to make something of himself, Tuba huffed and stood. With his mace in a vice-like grip, he used up the last of his remaining strength before the abyss took him.

"Gigantic Slam!" The floating floor crumbled under the impact, shuddering as it fell to crumbles, dragging Tuba into the unknown as he had done on the bridge. Fugue was jolted as the ground beneath him gave way. He lurched for the ledge. His hand scraped against the jagged stone, biting into his flesh, but offering no leverage. He felt his organs jumble around in his chest cavity. The starless void closed in on him, but he jerked to a stop. Metallic talon-like fingers dug into his hand.

Slightly disoriented, he commanded, "Hoist me up, you worthless guttersnipe!" He was pulled in a direction he believed to be up. He was sure he heard Rondo swear. Something stung on his hand, he had scratched it. Right? Why was he so out of it? He stared down at his palm, the flesh scrapped. It was also smeared with something. There wasn't any red in it. He poked at the substance with his other hand. Rondo slapped his prodding finger away.

"Don't massage it in, idiot," she chided. Her glove was off; it still had some of the earlier capsule stuff on it, if he was seeing correctly. Oh, capsule stuff. Is that what was on his hand? He stared at his open palm with foggy eyes.

"What does that goop do?" he asked wearily. He curled his fingers. It bent awkwardly and sponge-like. The flesh felt too soft. Fugue wiggled his fingers, amused by the motion lines he couldn't completely concentrate on.

Rondo frowned as she wiped his hand off with a cloth, noting he was already being affected, "I don't know what's going to happen, to be honest. Hopefully it wasn't enough to kill you."

A/N: Yes, the title was a reference to Tuba AND my year-and-three-days next chapter upload. Heh, sorry! I will have chapter 4 up by the end of January, I will not abandon you guys! Trust me, it's the chapter you've been waiting for when you saw Rondo x Fugue. Hehehe, so please stick around... if anyone is still reading this *sigh* Comments are love!

By the way, my brain is mush and the formatting was thrown off a bit when I uploaded it. I will go back in to make any edits if necessary when I'm better-abled.

Disclaimer: Rondo and Fugue and Tuba are not my own creation, they belong to their respective owners.


	4. Inevitable

A/N: My only comment this chapter is have fun, I hope it's worth the wait :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Eternal Sonata, nor Fugue and Rondo.

Fugue scuffed his boots against the ground as he trailed behind Rondo. He was intently staring into his Soul Shard that Rondo had given to him after she cleaned off his hand. Grand Venom had taken some sort of effect on the swordsman, but the symptoms were not what she expected. He was silent and obediently following where ever she went. If he was experiencing any pain, he certainly was making a good show of hiding it. It was a wonder that fatigue had not rendered him into a collapsed lump on the floor.

"Fugue," she said, stopping so he could catch up. He looked up from his shard and shuffled towards her without much haste. Waiting up for him was exceedingly tiresome. Rondo felt guilty about making him so pitiful. Collateral damage was not something she wanted to be known for, but thanfully Fugue was too subdued by the toxins in his system to rub the mistake in her face. He was a walking reminder that she was not precise and damaged someone other than her target. Just looking at him was burdensome for her at this point.

Fugue stood next to her as she motioned for him to follow, "C'mon. We're going back to the first floor." She stepped onto the warp pad. Fugue's eyes followed her steps, but he did not move. Tapping her foot, she said, "Well? Hurry up." She had no idea what he was so concentrated on, but it made him sluggish.

He focused his gaze between her face and the shard in his hand before he said without much fuss, "Fine." Using his shuffle, he made his way onto the warp and they went off. A blink later and they were back at the entrance.

"Stay here, Fugue," she ordred. "You're in no shape to keep bothering me. I'll continue searching for my soul on my own. It's not my fault if you die." She waved over her shoulder, not bothering to consult on the matter. He was starting to unnerve her, how quiet he was. She wanted to get away from him and that eerie silence.

Her steps hesitated as she heard him snicker, "Are you really trying to find Soul Shards to repair your soul or are you just entertaining yourself with something to do?" She turned around. He had yet to move away from the warp. " You're just praying for a reason to exist, but you can't find one and that is why you're endlessly looking for something to hold on to. What you thought wasn't important, what you thought meant nothing, is now everything because you are nothing. But you're too stubborn to admit that. Now nothing is more important to you than everything else."

"So you finally built up the nerve to speak? And quite the moutful, at that," she asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms, drumming her fingers on her forearm. "Was thinking about stuff like that what you were squandering my time with? I don't see why you threw away all that brain power. You would never be able to understand how I value myself, nor do you need to. Your words mean nothing to me so keep them to yourself." She was already walking away before she even finished her last sentence, completely dismissing him.

"If my words mean nothing and you are nothing, these words do apply to you," he snapped. A staccato of steps followed behind her, his feet no longer scuffing along the ground. Rondo halted and he collided into her back. He fell backwards, but Rondo grasped the chain on the collar of his shirt, jerking him up toward her face.

"I'm going to let you get away with that because I know you're not yourself, but say another word and you'll be sorry," she hissed. Gruffly, she let go of his shirt and pushed him away. "Just stay here until your normal senses return to you. Don't follow me. " Flicking her head away arrogantly, she turned on her heel and sashayed towards the othe side of the floor.

Fugue scoffed, walking after her, "You are so narrow-minded in your binary way of thinking. Either you have to do something or you don't. Do you make any of your decisions based on what you actually want or is everything just a step in fulfilling a habitual obligation? There's no one here with power over you. But here you are, searching for Soul Shards like agogos because you don't know anything else and you're not willing to see the other outcomes." Marching up to her and spinning her around, he gripped her shoulders and shook her, "Rondo, you're a coward."

"Fugue," she said, wounded. She looked away from him and closed her eyes, a resentful frown on her lips as she spoke, "That's so cruel for you to say; it's painful to hear. But..." Her eyes slowly opened and she stared at him, a wry smile on her face, "...at least I know it won't hurt as much as this."

She slapped his hands off her shoulders. Pulling her arm back, her shoulder blades gliding beneath her skin, the angered woman lost any modesty she had. His flesh felt and looked like passion fruit under her right fist, her knuckles tenderizing the already bruised cheek. With another jab to the corner of his ribs, Fugue felt his internal organs plow into each other. As his body bent at the impact, Rondo wrapped her hands behind his neck and pulled his torso down to meet his solar plexus with her knee. A final kick to the abdomen sent Fugue crashing into the stairs.

"I told you not to speak again, you roach," Rondo spat, her volume only slightly subdued by the heaving of her chest. "Perhaps the fact your mouth is running so much is a sign of your recovery. That's drepressing."

"You know, you do not need to be so brutal in your methods of showing your disagreement," he laughed, a cough interrupting his mirth. Using the stairs as support, he pushed himself up.

"I've had it with you," he said, flinching as he tried to stand up straight. "You are sick and tired of this place. So what? What's the difference between here and out there? Your only purpose is to find Soul Shards. The moment you finish, there will be nothing for you."

"Fugue, don't concern yourself with me. My first agenda is getting out of here. Whatever happens after I'll figure out on my own," she insisted. "I'm not blindly searching for Soul Shards because all I'm good at is scouring. I'm doing it so I can ditch this place."

"That's exactly it," he continued, cradling his stomach. "What do we want once we get out? Just find something else to distract ourselves with? You're scared to change, Rondo, but try to look at least one thing differently. I can't tag along like this for much longer."

"Then leave me alone, you poison-soaked roach! Leave for all I care. And I am not a coward. I don't need to change because there's no good reason to," she spat as she approached him. "If I must, I'll knock you out and just disappear while you're out. Maybe that'll be the best." She already aimed a punch at his temple.

Fugue crouched beneath her fist, Rondo's body suddenly lurching forward. He twisted and pushed her back, sending her up the stairs. As she got up to face him, Fugue rammed his elbow into her stomach. The hit sent her into the unison's door, her back hitting it with a thud. He climbed the stairs and stood over her, slamming his fist against the door above her head.

"Prove it," he growled, pressing her body onto the uncompromising doors. "How are you going to break from your routine of seek, obtain, and vanish? I would dare you, but I know you won't be able to do."

"Get off, Fugue," she said, shoving him away. "I'm not here to play your stupid games. Get out of my way."

"Games?" Fugue sneered. He caught her wrists and slammed her against the door, pinning her arms back. "This is no game, this is our reality. You always avoid things that get in your way. I happen to be currently impeding your efforts so that means you'll do everything you can to get rid of me. Try all you want, but I won't let you escape until you hear me out."

Rondo struggled and strained, her muscles all focusing on the same goal of breaking away. He was way too close for her comfort. _Where was he saving all this energy,_ she wondered incredulously. He rested most of his weight on her. Whether it was because the poison was finally taking its toll on his stamina or his stragetic tactic to hinder her movement, she'd never be completely sure. Either way, it was effective. The door's intricate designs were biting into her back as she was compressed against it.

"Just let me go," she cried out in exhasperation. She was trying to restrain from beating him up again so soon since she hated to spend that much energy on him, but she was close to resorting to it.

"Then calm down and look at me!" He demanded, his grip around her wrists tightening. She winced, her own metal gloves pinching her skin.

She sighed in frustration and stopped thrashing her arms around. Reluctantly, she rested them at her side, her fists unfurling. His hands were still clasped around her wrists, and her body remained tense. She settled her sight on his face, unamusement written all over it. It was the first time she had earnestly bothered looking at him in a long time. The only other time was their first introduction to each as she judged him and his current expression was nothing like the first.

His face was so desperate, vulnerable. Dissent displayed itself as a frown. His eyes, she could not stand them, were filled with imploring. He was so infamous for that poker face of his that only broke when he was engaged in combat. To see him completely exposing himself was discerning.

"You look wretched," Rondo commented.

"Yeah," he replied. "So do you." Her lip twitched into a frown.

"Now let me go," she commanded, her fists starting to clench again.

"I beg your pardon," Fugue scolded. "Your busniess has yet to conclude. So what's your plan, hmm? Just put yourself back together and wander as a mercenary?"

"So?" She said, "That was my exact lifestyle before this and that's how it'll continue afterwords. "

"But Waltz isn't hiring anymore, is he? I've given much of my precious thinking to the topic of what there's left to do in a place where we're unwanted," he said, pressing his shoulder against her to supress her squirming. "There are no positives that come to mind. I'm sure Claves' friends would have plenty of great things they could think of. I doubt they have our best interests in mind, though. And yet how can you say you have no need to change?"

"I don't need someone to give me orders," she said, her leg just about ready to knee him again. "I don't need some arrogant rat with a throne to tell me what I should be doing."

"There you go again," he groaned, enraged and disappointed. He would have thrown his arms up in the air had they not been holding down her arms. "Honestly, what will you do with yourself? You're self-empowered, but to what use? You have no plans for out there. You rely on the motivation of others to act. When will you do something for yourself?"

"Why does this matter to you?" Rondo demanded, her patience wearing thin. "I don't have any plans once I'm out of this maze. Yeah, I admit it. But that doesn't involve you. I don't know what I'll do when I get out, but at least I'll be rid of this place. Maybe I'll need to make some life adjustments. But that's not important right now. You happy? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Fugue chuckled, a rare smile on his face without a trace of his anger from a moment ago, "More or less, yes. Since you don't have plans, just as I anticipated, I can go through with _mine_. I've got an idea and I'm sure you'll become quite fond of it."

Confusion scrunched Rondo's brow together, her lips parting to voice protest. Fugue moved in, his hands squeezing Rondo's wrists as he captured the plump flesh of her bottom lip with his mouth, effectively silencing her complaint. Her whole body stiffened and her blood radiated warmth into her marrow. He relaxed against her frame, cloth and flesh brushing, proximity closing as the heat from his blood mingled with her own. Before she could even think to hit him, he released her and retreated down the steep stone steps. A gasp filled her lungs with the air she had lost.

"There's your reason," he grinned, laughing. He spread his arms wide, making melodramatic gestures. "Kill me. You want to kill me. I know I'm not lasting long, thanks to you, so if my last bit of existence is spent for you to erase, so be it. I'll selflessly use my life to give you purpose. Heaven will cry out in praise and permit me beyond their gates. If I find one more miracle, they'll even call me a saint."

"I'll take you up on that offer!" Rondo leapt down the stairs, her blades brandished, "Just because you're poisoned, doesn't make this excusable." She swung at him, which Fugue easily dodged. "Actually, nothing can make this acceptable."

"I know," he said, his grin still in place. She mercilessly hacked at him, but he was quick on his feet. Her anger pursued him all over the floor, her blood boiling.

"Rondo, I can't make it easy for you. If you want to kill me, you have to work for it," he said, jumping away from her blade as it passed centimeters from his neck. He playfully bounded away from her weapon, occasionally teasing her by barely letting his shirt get nicked. Rondo screamed, her swords digging deep gashes into the ground. He smirked, running backwards. He stumbled a bit when his foot hit the edge of the warp pad. She dug her blade deep into the ground, the stab missing his leg by a fraction of a second.

"Remember, Rondo," he called as the warp pad light up as he stood upon it. Rondo hurriedly tried to remove her cinquedea from being embedded in the floor as he spoke. "You have to make it to the outside if you wish to fulfill your desire to murder me! You have to survive, Rondo. Now there's a noble purpose to finish your soul," he said grandly, arrogance and pride in his voice. With that, the warp flashed a brilliant white and took Fugue to some unknown floor.

"Stop," she screeched in futile effort. "I will stab your liver so you die a slow and agonizing death. I'll feed your stupid carcass to that fluffball again and dance on your monocle!" She ran at the warp pad, but it was already too late. Only when he was gone did Rondo fall to her knees. She discarded her blades, letting them clang against the ground. She ripped off her gloves and stared at her hands, her detached mind trying to find something to refocus on. Gritting her teeth, she held her head. An unfamiliar heat was forming around the rim of her eyes.

"What the hell just happened," she meant to yell, but it came out a distraught whimper into her hands. The feeling of Fugue's clutch still lingered around her wrists.


	5. Internal Stratagem

Heat flocked beneath Rondo's skin. It crawled within her, an unsettling feeling creeping through her entire being. Numb with ache, her legs begged her to move, but she was unaware of her own body. The only thing she could do was breathe deeply and gaze into her hands systematically. Left palm, right. Flip. Left, right, Flip. Repeat. By the time she became aware of her body again, her legs had already achieved slumber. Slowly moving back into motion, she lifted a hand and touched it to her cheek. A cold clamminess greeted her, the sensation a foreign one to her fingertips. The coolness that sat atop her face and the heat from beneath her skin made for a restless mix. Rondo had never felt so completely lost, That was saying a lot, seeing what place she was trapped in.

"What am I doing?" She asked herself. Her lips tugged back into their usual displeased frown. The thought that she was acting so pathetic boiled her blood. Trying to prove otherwise, she quickly jumped to her feet. It was a grave mistake and the room began spinning, her head and legs aching with the sudden burst. Crouching to steady herself, she took her systematic breaths while rubbing her temples. Be cool. Inhale. Be calm. Exhale. Everything she did ran on a system. This last incident was a mere inconvenience in that system, she tried to convince herself.

Upset was not a feeling she was accustomed to. Anger was a much more closely acquainted emotion. Her mind used every possible drop of energy towards removing the memory in her head. It shocked her that she had been so violently impacted by the recent incident. Strength she did not lack, physically or mentally, her confidence brimmed on arrogance, and the only mission she ever failed was when she died. Little to nothing could make her back down so why had Fugue's little experiment unraveled her so?

She hissed through her teeth, "Something is wrong with me."

"No, nothing's wrong," an inner voice tried to reassure her. "You're a little scared is all."

"Scared," she scoffed at herself. "More like I'm losing my edge."

"Your ability to perform has not gone down, you are edgy as ever. It's just that you are facing a new kind of problem, one you never took the time to think about."

Rondo stood up, her brow scrunching. Her inner monologues and pep talks were one thing, but this was the longest running conversation she ever had. It felt like it was within her own mind, nothing was being verbally stated, but the source seemed to be elsewhere.

It continued, "You're tough. Tougher than many of the warriors in this realm. Waltz would be pleased."

"Of course he would, I train specifically for this purpose. What makes you think I would do anything that wasn't the best?"

"That's not where your fear lies. Your fear lies in being something other than that."

She crossed her arms, "What would that fear be?"

"Change. You're afraid to change."

"Is this Fugue? You're spewing some nonsensical bull that I would never be capable of thinking."

"No, that's not important. Forget worrying about that. When was the last time you did something for yourself? Not on orders, not for the sake of competition and reputation. Just a genuine act of self-appreciation."

Rolling her eyes. she said, "I don't know. How am I supposed to track something that stupid?"

"You could start by actually doing something of that nature."

"Where are you?" Rondo was certain at this point that although it was within her head, the content was not one of her inner machinations. This was a trick perhaps or some sort of manipulation, another ploy by the Mysterious Unison to break her will and force her into submission. It would need to try harder than that to get her. She paced the pathway, her eyes searching for a possible source of the voice. "Show yourself."

"You have to find me and willingly face me."

"I'm looking, come out here."

"But you see, you must face me before you can find me."

"How does that make sense?" Rondo drummed her finger along her forearm.

"I don't. That's why you're afraid to truly search for me. I am not a sensible object for you to search for."

"I'm not the type to back down from a challenge. I'll find you, just watch."

"I'm watching and waiting. But you still fear me."

"Oh, why's that?" She was not convinced.

"Because you're neglecting to look in a certain place. You're scouring every other place except this one and that's because you know you'll find me there and you're afraid to face me."

"Where would that be? I know this entire maze, there's no place for you to hide."

"You won't find me hiding. You're the one running from me."

She laughed, a hollow sound without any sincerity behind it. "Me? Running? You're terribly mistaken."

"I'm afraid I'm terribly correct," the voice replied.

"Then where is the one place I have not dared to venture in this entire maze? Where is the place I have not dared to face?"

"You don't have the nerve to look within yourself."

"That's -," Rondo stopped pacing, whipping around. She saw nothing. The voice was right in her head now, as if it were being whispered to her in her ear. Her heart thrummed, the only sense that told her she was still alive and the only thing she ever checked on within herself. Never had she bothered going further than that.

"I told you I was right."

"But what am I looking for? There's nothing I need to find there," she tried dismissing it, but her heartbeat and mind began racing. It was true; Rondo was actively trying to keep herself from going beyond her immediate thoughts at that very moment.

"The point isn't to find something. You look inside yourself and see what you can find. I don't think you've done that. You were too busy playing fetch all your life. It's all you know."

"Get out," she demanded. "You're pissing me off, I don't need this."

The voice challenged, "How do you know that when you haven't even checked if something inside you was missing?"

"There's nothing missing. Just a whole lot of excessive anger at you."

"That's to be expected, you know nothing but anger."

She tried turning away, but the voice remained right inside her head. There was no way to escape from it.

"See? The fact that you only know anger actually angers you. When in fact, what are you feeling? Disappointment? Loneliness? Denial? You've been denied to feel anything your entire existence so now that's all you've allowed yourself to feel because it's easier."

"Anger is all I need, I don't need happiness to be satisfied."

"But yet you know not how satisfaction feels and only anger."

She wanted to scream, but she knew it would not stop or help anything, "I do know how to feel other things." It was a lackluster comeback, she knew.

"Like? Unless you give me examples, I don't believe you."

"Why do I owe a stupid floating voice any answers. But I sure do feel something right now. Like, like rage and frustration" she began, her voice beginning to rise as she spilled out, "and exhaustion and pride and annoyance and hostility and - " Her voice broke as a sudden sob caught in her throat. The weird clamminess had taken over her face again. She lifted her hand to her cheek, wiping at her eyes.

Rondo gazed directly at her fingertip, the wet remains of a tear staring back; she was crying. "And desperation and confusion and loss and I don't know why, but I've never felt so low in my life and I'm not even alive so does feeling nothing count? Because I have felt like nothing for a long time now and there hasn't been many occasions when I didn't feel like that." A horrid sense of despair settled over her. Rondo did not cry. It felt wrong, but here she was with watery eyes. In any other situation, she would not have let the water fall. Seeing that there was no other bodily witness around, she let them fall freely. It would be the first, and last, time, she told herself.

"Is that all?" the voice inquired as Rondo grew silent, wiping tears from her face.

"Yeah, that's everything relevant to me as it is right now. Can you leave me alone? I answered your damn question and I feel worse than I did before this. Add that feeling to your list."

"But you've only just begun to face me, will you run again?"

"No," she responded hastily, looking up as if the voice's source hovered above her head. Looking down, she replied more softly, "I mean I don't plan on running. I don't back down from a challenge."

"Then keep going. You're almost there. You've faced me, but now you must find me. You mentioned something about not feeling like nothing. What sort of 'occasion' had to happen for that to occur?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. It's not really an event. More like a person. It was different."

"Who is this person?"

"I rather not say."

"Saying their names will not make them suddenly appear. I can keep a secret, I promise."

"You're a damn voice in my head! No shit you can keep a secret," she snapped. She sighed, "I guess that means I have no excuse not to say it either."

"So tell me more," the voice urged.

"I don't have a family, not a blood one I wish to acknowledge anyways. And this 'colleague', let's say, didn't either so I guess you could say I got along better with them."

"This colleague being?"

"It's stupid. They're not superior to me at all. But we were equals, in a way. I don't even know" She stayed quiet a moment before quietly whispering, "Claves."

"She made you feel different? Why did you not push her away?"

"It wasn't consciously. I just acted different around her. She could get along with anyone, that was her specialty. I wasn't exempt of it. She could charm anyone, it was disgusting. A fly among the pigs she had to work with. Always incessantly chatting and getting in everyone's personal affairs. It was annoying, but then when she's not around, I found that the silence got tiresome after a while, too."

"And you were jealous of this?"

"Jealous? Not at all. I think it was," she paused searching for the right word," respect. That's it, I respected her. She wasn't someone I had to compete with. She had a lot of potential and I respected that about her."

"Was she like the family you never had?"

" I wouldn't know. She was just there and I grew accustomed to it."

"A friend?"

"Let's go with that if it'll shut you up."

"I don't know," Rondo responded, "All I know is she was a partner in missions and someone who would only cheer for me when I sparred. She would chide me mercilessly afterwards. She wouldn't let me do anything that wasn't up to her standards. She didn't want me to die on her beat and I told her the same thing. I wouldn't babysit her on missions and she wouldn't carry my body back."

"She cared about you and you cared right back."

"If she saw what just happened, I bet she'd be let down. Just like my guard was."

"Why, what happened?"

Rondo's face burned pink, "Nothing."

"You're running again."

"I'm not running, I just rather not talk about it. I don't want to end up like the only person I have ever mildly respected."

"How come you say that?"

"She was put on the infiltration mission for Andantino. Good for her, whatever. I didn't think much about it. I knew with her personality, she could wiggle her way in and do just fine. But she changed.

"I can't place it. She got carried away with that roach resistance leader. I had to spy on her for that reason. And what I saw was, it was strange. It's not like she got weaker," Rondo shook her head. "There was something different about her. At first, I thought her resolve had weakened. Ignoring the mission, I surely thought that she had no backbone to uphold it anymore. But in truth, I think her resolve was stronger than ever. So in that moment when I did take her down, you could say I was jealous."

"Jealous? Of being dead? Losing everything?"

"Not that. I was jealous because she found something worth dying for on her own. We're obligated by our employment to do our job and stick to it. But she," Rondo closed her eyes as the moment came back to her. "She found a place where she belonged and was accepted, not hired into. It started as a mission, but ended up being an introduction to something I've never felt."

"She experienced something you never have?"

"Yeah." She sighed, "Happiness."

"Why haven't you felt it?"

"I had to kill her because of it! I don't want to give myself up to such an extent. It started as a job, the way she ended up. A simple observation task, nothing more. But then, you see things no one else notices about your target. You see them when they're vulnerable and before you even notice, you find yourself lowering your guard around them. It's only fair. You can't see them as their front they put up because you've seen them in ways no one else will ever see. That kind of unintentional vulnerability is a risk I can't take. Claves may have been happy, but it's also what got her killed."

"You speak so soundly about this experience. Have you two talked about her time spying or do you happen to have your own instance where you unconsciously lowered your guard after having to observe someone?"

If someone blinked, they would have missed the flash of crimson that crossed Rondo's face, "Of course not. I just happened to infer that information."

"Sure, sure," the voice said, not convinced. "But now, will you still deny yourself happiness when you have absolutely nothing to lose, not even time?"

"I can't do that to myself, look at Claves."

"She's alive and well and out of this hell hole," the voice said flatly.

"But," Rondo said, blinking, "But she had someone to save her."

"What if you did, too?"

"What?"

"If you had someone that cared enough to come back for you?"

The concept was impossible for her to comprehend, "If I had someone that cared enough to save me..."

"That's the idea."

"I don't need rescuing, I can take care of myself."

"There you go-"

"But," she interjected, "I guess I wouldn't mind any help. I mean, I won't deny myself being 'happy', whatever that is. I know I'm not happy here so trying my luck outside doesn't sound too bad."

"That's the spirit," the voice cheered. "So do you admit that you can feel things other than anger?"

Rondo rolled her eyes, "You could say that."

"And that you will allow yourself to be happy should the opportunity present itself?"

"It beats wasting away in here alone."

"Good, I will take that as successfully finding me," the voice said.

With a sudden jerk, Rondo felt something push outwards from her sternum. She shut her eyes, as a chill shook her. She knew the sensation, it was the same as the first she saw Fugue: there was a Soul Shard present. When she opened her eyes again, a Soul Shard hovered low over her face.

"You found me," the voice said, the source clearly from the shard this time.

"Found you? How were you inside me this entire time?"

"I am part of your soul, the part you hid for so long."

Rondo snickered, "Really? What part would that be?"

"Your inner most desires."

"Inner most, huh?" She said, snatching the shard out of the air. She stared at the shard, pulling her other Soul Shards from their pouch.

"Don't forget, I will be here no matter how much you try to suppress me. Do something for yourself."

The shard stopped glowing as it merged with the others, the colors swarming much more rapidly within. Only one more shard remained. It was a wonder how she had gotten that far. Not long ago, she was struggling on her own without any luck. Now she was one shard away, a single Soul Shard from her release and second chance in the living realm.

"But what do I really want?" The question hung in the air. She could not deny that after she got out, she had no exit plan. Looking at her shard, she watched the colors swarm under its surface. A medley of violets and reds swam towards her touch, a glimmer of grey occasionally as well. "I have to finish this Soul Shard. That's what I want."

Her fingers protectively wrapped around her almost-complete soul as she returned in to the pouch on her side, "And after that, torturing Fugue for his insolent behavior doesn't sound so bad either."

The warp pad near the doors began shining more intensely. Rondo approached it, curious. It was a returning warp pad, it was not supposed to teleport anybody anywhere. Yet, here it was, shining as if it were the teleporter at the opposite end of the floor.

With a shrug, Rondo hopped onto it, "Here goes nothing."

Breaking up into colorful particles, Rondo was engulfed in bright light. When the flash subsided, she was gone.

A/N: Never doubt for a moment that I will finish this fic. I apologize for the really long update ranges. But I am set on completing this fic within this year. The next chapter from Fugue's perspective will be coming up very soon, within this month. I'm doing SuWriMos so you can count on it. I apologize for any grammar issues; I proofread it for the most part, but some flaws may have slipped by.


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